You Will Come to the
Spring and See Light Itself
We Christians are the
light, at least by comparison with unbelievers. Thus the Apostle says: Once you were darkness, but now you are
light in the Lord; walk then as sons of the light. And elsewhere he says: The
night is far spent, the day is drawing near. Let us therefore lay aside the
works of darkness and put on the armour of light; let us walk uprightly as in
the day.
Nevertheless, since
the days in which we are now living are still dark compared to the light which
we shall see, hear what the apostle Peter says. He speaks of a voice that came
from the Supreme Glory and said to the Lord Jesus Christ: You
are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. This voice, he says, we
heard coming from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain. Because we ourselves were not present
there and did not hear that voice from heaven, Peter says to us: And
we possess a more certain prophetic word to which you do well to attend, as to
a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises
in your hearts.
When, therefore, our
Lord Jesus Christ comes and, as the apostle Paul says, brings
to light things hidden in darkness and makes plain the secrets of the heart, so
that everyone may receive his commendation from God, then lamps will no longer be needed.
When that day is at hand, the prophet will not be read to us, the book of the
Apostle will not be opened, we shall not require the testimony of John, we
shall have no need of the Gospel itself. Therefore all Scriptures will be taken
away from us, those Scriptures which in the night of this world burned like
lamps so that we might not remain in darkness.
I implore you to love
with me and, by believing, to run with me; let us long for our heavenly
country, let us sigh for our heavenly home, let us truly feel that here we are
strangers. What shall we then see? Let the gospel tell us: In
the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. You will come to the fountain, with
whose dew you have already been sprinkled. Instead of the ray of light which
was sent through slanting and winding ways into the heart of your darkness, you
will see the light itself in all its purity and brightness. It is to see and
experience this light that you are now being cleansed. Dearly
beloved, John himself
says, we are the sons of God, and it has not yet been disclosed what we shall
be; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see
him as he is.
I feel that your
spirits are being raised up with mine to the heavens above; but the
body which is corruptible weighs down the soul, and this earthly tent burdens
the thoughtful mind. I am
about to lay aside this book, and you are soon going away, each to his own
business. It has been good for us to share the common light, good to have
enjoyed ourselves, good to have been glad together. When we part from one
another, let us not depart from him.
Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings
From a treatise of St Augustine on St John's gospel
Image taken from Wikimedia Commons
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your interest in our blog! Your comment will be viewed shortly to be added to our blog. :)